Waste and/or hazardous liquid containment and collection system

ABSTRACT

A liquid cleaning system rests on a surface having a non-porous material covering and a drain. A plate layer has two or more layers, each have runners arranged in a grid. The grid of each successive layer is offset at an angle with respect to the grid of a previous layer. An upper layer covers the plate layer and has a plurality of holes for the passage of fluids into the liquid cleaning system. As fluids enter the liquid cleaning system through the holes, the liquid traverses the grid layers of the plate layer, flowing towards the drain. Contaminants within the liquid collect within the grid of the layers of the plate layer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/454,575, filed Mar. 9, 2017 which, in turn, is acontinuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/615,711,filed Feb. 6, 2015, the disclosure of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

FIELD

The present invention relates to hazardous and/or waste liquidcollection and containment. More particularly, it relates to a modularand mobile cleaning system for capturing, containing and collectinghazardous liquids and/or waste water resulting from cleaning ofvehicles.

BACKGROUND

Hazardous liquid and waste water collection is known in the prior art.Due to rising concerns that the environment is becoming polluted at analarming rate and the mandate of the federal Clean Water Act by,governments, both State and Federal, and those in other countries havebegun mandating that water runoff from many vehicle washing proceduresbe contained and collected for proper disposable to avoid furthercontamination of the environment. For example, the simple process ofcleaning a piece of machinery in which oils are separated from themachinery must now be cleaned, in many locales, in a controlled rinsingfacility or shower system that collects and contains the water usedduring the cleaning procedure. The waste water is generally notpermitted to simply enter the sewer system or run off into theunderground aquifer or nearest body of water. In many locations, thewashing of vehicles such as trucks and automobiles requires that therinse water be captured, contained and disposed of properly.

Other cleaning problems occur with hazardous liquid and waste watercontainment and collection. In particular, it is possible forbusinesses, public facilities and land areas to be exposed to orinfected with deadly biological or chemical substances that areextremely hazardous to remove. During an exemplary cleaning procedure,the people involved must wear protective suits. When finished in thecleaning operation, the protective wear must be thoroughly cleansedbefore being removed. However, it is not permitted to allow the rinsewater to simply run off and into ground or sewer.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,290,558 to DeChard et al, which is hereby incorporatedby reference, shows a mobile waste and containment system that lacksmultiple layers of corrugated membranes as will be described.

What is needed is a system that will collect contaminated liquids (e.g.water and other soluble or insoluble material) and separate theundesirable materials from the liquid (e.g., water) for proper disposalof the undesirable materials.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a waste water and hazardous chemical containment andcollection system is disclosed including a substantially planar,non-porous lower layer. A plate layer having multiple layers of gridsrests upon the planar, non-porous lower layer. An upper layer that hasseveral holes for the passage of fluids rests upon the upper platelayer. The overall length and width of the lower plate layer, the upperplate layer, and the upper layer are substantially equal. Fluids enterthe system through the holes and some oils from the fluids collectwithin netting of the lower plate layer and the upper plate layer forcollection at a later time.

In another embodiment, a method of treating waste water is disclosedincluding passing the waste water through holes in an upper layer,thereby filtering out larger particles from the waste water then flowingthe waste water over a plate layer. The plate layer is set over anon-porous layer, thereby capturing oils suspended in the waste waterwithin netting (offset grid layers) of the plate layer as per the natureof Stokes' Law. Waste water that now has a lower amount of oils drainsfrom the non-porous layer.

In another embodiment, a waste water and hazardous chemical containmentand collection system is disclosed including a substantially planar,non-porous lower layer having a drain, a plate layer resting upon theplanar, non-porous lower layer, an upper layer having a plurality ofholes for the passage of fluids, and walls surrounding the plate layerand the upper layer. The plate layer has multiple layers of a grid, eachlayer offset at an angle (e.g. 45 degrees) from a successive layer. Theoverall length and width of the lower plate layer, the upper platelayer, and the upper layer are substantially equal (and surrounded bythe walls).

In another embodiment, a liquid cleaning system is disclosed. The liquidcleaning system rests on a surface that has a drain. The liquid cleaningsystem includes a non-porous material covering the surface except forthe drain, a plate layer has multiple layers, each having runnersarranged in a grid. The grid of each successive layer is offset at anangle with respect to the grid of a previous layer. An upper layercovers the plate layer. The upper layer has a plurality of holes for thepassage of fluids into the plate. As the liquid that has entered theliquid cleaning system through the plurality of holes traverses the gridof the layers of the plate layer, flowing towards the drain,contaminants within the liquid collect within the grid of the layers.

In another embodiment, a liquid cleaning system is disclosed including alower layer that is substantially non-porous except for a drain. A platelayer include a lower layer and an upper, each layer made of runnersarranged in a grid, the upper layer offset from the lower layer at anangle (e.g. 45 degrees). An upper layer having a plurality of holes forthe passage of fluids covers the plate layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be best understood by those having ordinary skill inthe art by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a separation portion of awaste and/or hazardous liquid containment and collection system.

FIG. 1A illustrates a second cross-sectional view of a separationportion of a waste and/or hazardous liquid containment and collectionsystem.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cut-away view of the separation portion of thewaste and/or hazardous liquid containment and collection system.

FIG. 3 illustrates a plan view of the waste and/or hazardous liquidcontainment and collection system.

FIG. 3A illustrates a second plan view of the waste and/or hazardousliquid containment and collection system.

FIG. 4 illustrates a second plan view of the waste and/or hazardousliquid containment and collection system.

FIG. 5 illustrates a third plan view of the waste and/or hazardousliquid containment and collection system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferredembodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Throughout the following detailed description,the same reference numerals refer to the same elements in all figures.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 1A, and 2, cross-sectional and cut-away views of aseparation portion of a waste and/or hazardous liquid containment andcollection system are shown. Although shown in use for vehicle cleaning,the system disclose is capable of separating and proper disposal ofliquids from many different applications and is not limited to washingvehicles.

In the process of washing machinery such as vehicles, various chemicalsand oils are dislodged from the machinery or vehicles such as gasoline,oils, salts, car wax, tar, etc. Many municipalities prohibit drain waterfrom machinery cleaning or car washes to enter the sewerage and/or drainwater system, as these chemicals and oils would then find their way torivers, streams, and other bodies of water, adding pollutants to such.On the other hand, it is desirable by many to have a clean vehicle,especially in geographies where ice and snow removal include using saltsto melt the ice and snow being that such salts are corrosive in nature.Many people like to have clean vehicles and, to enhance the salabilityof vehicles; automobile dealerships often wash the entire inventory ofvehicles on a periodic interval to assure that the fleet of vehicles isappealing to potential buyers.

Many people wash their vehicles at home, in their driveway, using agarden hose and bucket, releasing small amounts of pollutants into thestorm drain system, which eventually leads to the above mentioned bodiesof water. Many others wash their vehicles in car wash facilities whichtypically have bays equipped with a high pressure source of water/soapand a drain to wash away excess water and dirt. Washing of vehicles incar wash facilities is preferred, in that, it is more cost-effective toprocess the contaminated water from the washing process than processingthe contaminated water at everybody's home.

In addition to cleaning of the waste water, some localities with limitedaverage rainfall and many localities during drought conditions, prohibitwashing of vehicles at homes and offices. In such, car washingfacilities are required to recycle water so as to use as little aspossible. As one could imagine, it is not good to wash a vehicle withunfiltered water from previous washed vehicles. Using such contaminatedwater results in a dirty vehicle, even after cleaning. Usingcontaminated water also results in fine grain grit being power-sprayedonto the vehicle which, besides slowly removing waxes and paint from thevehicle, this grit also clogs the high-pressure spray nozzle, requiringfrequent cleaning or replacement of the nozzle.

To facilitate recycling of the waste water from the above describedsituations, the disclosed waste and/or hazardous liquid containment andcollection system includes one or more separation and/or filteringportions, each independent of the other and useful with or without theothers. The first such separation and/or filter section is shown inFIG. 1. This separation portion includes several layers 20/30/40/50. Thelayers 20/30/40 that are permeable are held atop the base layer 50 bywall members 62 that prevent the contaminated liquids from spilling outfrom the sides of the layers 20/30/40/50. In some embodiments, the baselayer 50 is a water resistant coating on the ground surface 60 (e.g.waterproof paint, sealer, etc.) Although not required, it is anticipatedthat, in some embodiments, the wall members 62 are fastened to theground surface 60 (e.g. a cement slab). In some embodiments, plates 63are fastened to the wall members 62 to secure the layers 20/30/40/50 inplace. In a preferred embodiment, the bottom, base layer 50 includesdrainage for recycling runoff as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Also, althoughnot required, in this preferred embodiment, it is also preferred thatthere is a slow pitch or incline angled downward with respect togravity, converging at the drain 149 (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

As contaminated fluids with solids (e.g. water, solids, and pollutants)fall onto the upper layer 20, the contaminated fluids pass through aplurality of holes 22 in the upper layer 20, filtering out large debrissuch as stones, paper, etc.

The next two layers are plate layers 30/40 are made of geo-membranes ormembranes arranged in a grids or similar geometric pattern. The upperplate layer 30 is set over the lower plate layer 40.

In a preferred embodiment, the upper plate layer 30 is offset at anangle with respect to the lower plate layer 40. Although any angle isanticipated, an example of one angle is 45 degrees, in that, lines ofthe grid of the upper plate layer 30 are at 45 degree angles withrespect to lines of the grid of the lower plate layer 40. By arrangingthe plate layers 30/40 in this offset angle, as shown in FIG. 2, on topof the base layer 50, contaminated water with suspended oils musttraverse the plate layers 30/40 to reach the drain. As the contaminatedwater with suspended oils traverses the plate layers 30/40, oil droplets(the leading pollutant) are forced to increase in size, thereby speedingseparation from other liquids such as water. As the contaminated waterwith suspended oils enters the plate layers 30/40, the contaminatedwater with suspended oils flow towards the drain, e.g. by a slightincline. The contaminated water with suspended oils must traverse theplate layers 30/40. As the contaminated water with suspended oils goesover runners of the lower plate layer 40, pollutants that have a higherspecific gravity than water remain within the grid of the lower platelayer 40 and as the fluid goes under runners of the upper plate layer30, pollutants that have lower specific gravity than water remain withinthe grid of the upper plate layer 30, thereby filtering out much of thepollutants before they reach the drain 149.

After some number of uses, the upper layer 20 is lifted and the oil isvacuumed out of the plate layers 30/40 for proper disposal andrecycling.

As an example, the plate layers 30/40 are textured geo-membranes made byco-extruding textured, high density polyethylene providing chemicalresistance and sufficient load carrying abilities to support the weightof most vehicles.

A slightly modified separation and/or filter section is shown in FIG.1A. This separation portion includes several layers 20/30A/50. Thelayers 20/30A that are permeable are held atop the base layer 50 by wallmembers 62 that prevent the contaminated liquids from spilling out fromthe sides of the layers 20/30A/50. In some embodiments, the base layer50 is a water resistant coating on the ground surface 60 (e.g.waterproof paint, sealer, etc.) Although not required, it is anticipatedthat, in some embodiments, the wall members 62 are fastened to theground surface 60 (e.g. a cement slab). In some embodiments, plates 63are fastened to the wall members 62 to secure the layers 20/30A/50 inplace. In a preferred embodiment, the bottom, base layer 50 includesdrainage for recycling runoff as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Also, althoughnot required, in this preferred embodiment, it is also preferred thatthere is a slow pitch or incline angled downward with respect togravity, converging at the drain 149 (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

As contaminated fluids with solids (e.g. water, solids, and pollutants)fall onto the upper layer 20, the contaminated fluids pass through aplurality of holes 22 in the upper layer 20, filtering out large debrissuch as stones, paper, etc.

The next layer is a plate layer 30A made of geo-membranes or membranesarranged in a grids or similar geometric pattern. The plate layer 30A ismanufactured with grid layers (any number of two or more grid layers)that are offset to each other at an angle with respect to the subsequentgrid layer. Although any angle is anticipated, an example of one angleis 45 degrees, in that, the grid of a first layer of the plate layer 30Ais offset at a 45 degree angle with respect to a grid of a second layerof the plate layer 30A. By arranging the layers in this offset angle, asshown in FIG. 2, contaminated water with suspended oils must traversethe layers of the plate layer 30A to reach the drain. As thecontaminated water with suspended oils traverses the layers of the platelayer 30A, oil droplets (the leading pollutant) are forced to increasein size, thereby speeding separation from other liquids such as water.As the contaminated water with suspended oils enters the layers of theplate layer 30A, the contaminated water with suspended oils flow towardsthe drain, e.g. by a slight incline. The contaminated water withsuspended oils must traverse the layers of the plate layer 30A. As thecontaminated water with suspended oils goes over runners of a lowerlayer of the plate layer 30A, pollutants that have a higher specificgravity than water remain within the grid of the lower layer of theplate layer 30A and as the fluid goes under runners of the upper layerof the plate layer 30A, pollutants that have lower specific gravity thanwater remain within the grid of the upper layer of the plate layer 30A,thereby filtering out much of the pollutants before they reach the drain149.

After some number of uses, the upper layer 20 is lifted and the oil isvacuumed out of the plate layer 30A for proper disposal and recycling.

As an example, the plate layer 30A is fabricated as multiple layers oftextured geo-membranes made by molding or co-extruding textured, highdensity polyethylene providing chemical resistance and sufficient loadcarrying abilities to support the weight of most vehicles.

Any base layer 50 is anticipated such as a reinforced polypropylene asknown for use as a liner for containment ponds (with drain 149).

Referring to FIG. 3, a plan view of the waste and/or hazardous liquidcontainment and collection system 10 is shown. In this example, a ramp70 is provided to ease driving of a vehicle 5 onto the collection system10. For completeness, a high-pressure pump 102 and a washing wand 100are shown. In operation, dirt and debris are dislodged from the vehicle5 by the high-pressure water from the washing wand 100 and the nowcontaminated water, for example having dirt and oils suspended therewithin, fall onto the upper layer 20 of the collection system 10. Theholes 22 in the upper layer 20 filter out large particles such as stonesand also reduce splashing of the contaminated water onto the remaininglayers 30/40/50. As the contaminated water flows traverses the platelayers 30/40, any oil suspended in the water beads into droplets thatfurther combine with existing droplets of oil and remains within thenetting of the plate layers 30/40 as per the nature of Stokes' Law. Insuch, the sedimentation of the droplets of oil separates the oil fromthe water. The water (still contaminated with other pollutants) flows toa low spot of the collection system 10 while most of the oil remainswithin the plate layers 30/40. As in FIGS. 4 and 5, a drain 149 at thelow area of the base layer 50 permits collection of the water (with somecontaminates). After some number of uses, the upper layer 20 is liftedand the oil is vacuumed out of the plate layers 30/40 for properdisposal and recycling.

Referring to FIG. 3A, a plan view of the waste and/or hazardous liquidcontainment and collection system 10 is shown. In this example, a ramp70 is provided to ease driving of a vehicle 5 onto the collection system10. For completeness, a high-pressure pump 102 and a washing wand 100are shown. In operation, dirt and debris are dislodged from the vehicle5 by the high-pressure water from the washing wand 100 and the nowcontaminated water, for example having dirt and oils suspended therewithin, fall onto the upper layer 20 of the collection system 10. Theholes 22 in the upper layer 20 filter out large particles such as stonesand also reduce splashing of the contaminated water onto the remaininglayers 30A/50. As the contaminated water flows traverses the plate layer30A, any oil suspended in the water beads into droplets that furthercombine with existing droplets of oil and remains within the netting ofthe plate layer 30A as per the nature of Stokes' Law. In such, thesedimentation of the droplets of oil separates the oil from the water.The water (still contaminated with other pollutants) flows to a low spotof the collection system 10 while most of the oil remains within theplate layer 30A. As in FIGS. 4 and 5, a drain 149 at the low area of thebase layer 50 permits collection of the water (with some contaminates).After some number of uses, the upper layer 20 is lifted and the oil isvacuumed out of the plate layer 30A for proper disposal and recycling.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, alternate installations of the waste and/orhazardous liquid containment and collection system 10 are shown. Inthese examples of installations of the collection system 10, afterremoval of the oils by the plate layers 30/40 per the above explanation,the run-off, dirty water falls through a drain 149 in the base layer 50.Although not required, it is preferred that the layers 20/30/40/50 areslightly pitched towards the drain 149 to facilitate a slow flow offluid towards the drain 149.

After falling through the drain 149, the run-off, dirty water is furtherprocessed by separation tank 150. In this exemplary separation tank 150,the dirty water enters into a first compartment 152. As the firstcompartment 152 fills, the now cleaner water flows over a weir 153 intoa second compartment 154. In such, contaminates that have a higherspecific gravity than water (e.g., sand, metal) settle to the bottom ofthe first compartment 152 and the water and contaminates that have alower specific gravity than water (e.g., remaining oils, plastics) flowover the weir 153 and into the second compartment 154. In the secondcompartment 154, contaminates that have a lower specific gravity thanwater tend to float to the top 156 of the second compartment 154 whilethe, now, reclaimed water exits from the bottom of the secondcompartment 154 under a partition 157 (e.g., an inverted weir) and intoan exit compartment 158, where the reclaimed water exits, for example,into the sewerage drain 200. As with the plate layers 30/40, after somenumber of uses, debris, sand, contaminates are vacuumed out of thecompartments 152/154/158 and disposed or recycled according to acceptedpractices.

In FIG. 4, the reclaimed water is not recycled, entering the seweragedrain 200 or any other known waste water disposal system (not shown). Insuch, fresh water is supplied for cleaning the vehicle 5, for example,from a municipal water supply 110 or well and pump.

In FIG. 5, the reclaimed water exiting the separation tank 150 isgravity fed to a sump 302 through line 300. When the sump 302 fills to acertain point, the reclaimed water from within the sump 302 is pumpedout through an exit pipe 306 and is directed by a valve 304 to eitherthe sewerage drain 200 (or other drainage system) or into filtering andseparation tanks 310/320. The reclaimed water in the first separationtank 310 is preferably treated with aeration from an air pump 312. Asthe first separation tank 310 approaches being filled with the reclaimedwater, some of the reclaimed water exits the first separation tank 310from an upper area to exclude some amount of sedimentation, and thiswater passes through a filter 316, for example, a paper filter, sandfilter, carbon filter, etc. The now, substantially clean water entersthe second separation tank 320 which optionally has a second aerationpump 322. Should the system lose water (fluid) due to, for example,splashing, evaporation, and some water remaining on the vehicle 5,additional water is added from, for example, a municipal water supply110 through a supply valve 324 that is used to control the amount ofwater that is added to the system.

Water (substantially clean water) is then drawn from the bottom of thesecond separation tank 320. By drawing the water from the bottom of thesecond separation tank 320, the second separation tank 320 serves as areservoir, in that, the system will operate and not need refilling fromthe municipal water supply 110 until the second separation tank 320 issubstantially depleted. This requires fewer operations to add water fromthe supply. In some embodiments (not shown), the supply valve 324 isautomatically operated when an electronic device (e.g. a float or otherdevice) determines that the water level in the second separation tank320 is below a certain level.

Equivalent elements can be substituted for the ones set forth above suchthat they perform in substantially the same manner in substantially thesame way for achieving substantially the same result.

It is believed that the system and method as described and many of itsattendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description. Itis also believed that it will be apparent that various changes may bemade in the form, construction and arrangement of the components thereofwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or withoutsacrificing all of its material advantages. The form herein beforedescribed being merely exemplary and explanatory embodiment thereof. Itis the intention of the following claims to encompass and include suchchanges.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of cleaning a liquid comprising: passingthe liquid through holes in an upper layer, thereby filtering outparticles from the liquid; and after entering the holes, the liquidtraversing a plate layer before reaching a drain in a lower layer, thelower layer being non-porous except for the drain, the plate layercomprising layers of runners arranged in a grid, the grid of eachsuccessive layer of the layers is offset at an angle with respect to thegrid of a previous layer of the layers, thereby the liquid traversingthe layers of the plate layer must traverse the grids of layers; andwherein oils within the liquid accumulate within the grids of layers ofthe plate layer.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plate layer ismade from textured geo-membranes made by co-extruding textured, highdensity polyethylene.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the angle is 45degrees.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the lower layer is made ofreinforced polypropylene.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the lowerlayer is water-resistant paint.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the steps of: periodically lifting the upper layer, therebyexposing the plate layer; and vacuuming oils from the plate layer fordisposal and/or recycling of the oils.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising separating materials with a higher specific gravity than awater through a tank and weir system.
 8. The method of claim 7, furthercomprising further filtering and aerating of the liquid before reusingthe liquid.